This 52-disc comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear…

One thing that Rick Derringer could never be accused of is failing to be eclectic. Having recorded everything from MOR adult contemporary to bubblegum pop/rock to ballsy blues-rock over the years, the singer/guitarist has demonstrated that eclectic is his middle name. And Derringer's blues-rock/hard rock output is the focus of The Three Kings of the Blues, a best-of collection that Blues Bureau International assembled in 2010…..

If you're looking for a collection of how the electric guitar changed a number of music genres, this is it. This collection does a good job across the entire gamut of the electric guitar, and how it was used in several genres. Included are good/great examples of blues, r&b, jazz, r'n'r, and even a little c&w. The digitally remastered sound is very good overall. The jump from genre to genre can be a bit jarring at times, but marveling at how the electric guitar can so easily fit into so many types of music makes the genre a non-issue. A good example is Disc 2. From "Maybelline" (Chuck Berry), to "Hide Away" (Freddie King), to "Have Guitar-Will Travel" (Scotty Moore Trio), to "West Coast Blues" (Wes Montgomery), to "Out Of Limits" (The Marketts), to "Taking Off" (Milton Brown And His Musical Brownies), To "Miss Ann's Tempo" (Grant Green), to "Guitar Bustin'" (Arthur Smith), to "Nuages" (Django Reinhardt), the scope of this collection is very wide.

This 52-disc (no, that is not a typo) comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear…

This 52-disc (no, that is not a typo) comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear…

This 52-disc (no, that is not a typo) comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear…

This excellent video focuses primarily on Mississippi Delta bottleneck blues guitarists, and within that framework illustrates several different playing styles… The highlights of the video are the two numbers by Son House. 'Levee Camp Moan' is preceded by a short but hilarious lecture from House about the dangerous business of love. Both this clip and his 'Death Letter Blues' typify a Son House live performance - he begins each song with a soft-spoken introduction, then takes a deep breath, hunches over the guitar, and explodes into sound and fury.

This is an excellent CD of blues with a touch of boogie-woogie for added effect. A great mixture of well established, as well as, unheard of British blues talent. Includes the various former members of the rotating line-up of Blues Incorporated as well as their as their equally talented blues contemporizes. Stellar performances from established stars like Jack Bruce and Georgie Fame as well as unheard of talents like Miller Anderson. Most surprising, this CD contains the first step from Peter Green to return back to the stagelights. My personal favorites the version of "Blind Man" by Maggie and Big Jim Sullivan and the outstanding performance of "Time Below Zero" by the group Nine Below Zero. Excellent booklet gives a detailed background on the performers.